


Buying Flowers for the Other

by BeccaBear93



Series: Prompt Fills [3]
Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020)
Genre: F/F, Flowers, Fluff, Minor Andrea Rhodea/Cloud Strife, Prompt Fill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-11
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-17 08:28:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29347410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeccaBear93/pseuds/BeccaBear93
Summary: Manda searches for a gift that will match her girlfriend's beauty.
Relationships: Honey Bee Girls/Honey Bee Girls (Compilation of FFVII)
Series: Prompt Fills [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2152002
Comments: 4
Kudos: 6





	Buying Flowers for the Other

**Author's Note:**

> I can count on one hand the number of people that will care about this, but oh well. This one’s all for me, just some self-indulgent sweetness ‘cause I love my girls very much and they deserve to have something of their own <3  
> (Even if... Aerith ended up having a bigger part in this than Pyra did... oops.)

“Hey, Aerith?” Manda calls, tugging at the ends of her hair. It’s not like her to be so nervous about something so simple, but, well… There’s always one exception to all of her rules. The other woman turns to face her over the back of the booth, head tilted and a curious hum on her lips. “You’re… a florist, right?”

“Yep!”

“Do you… think you could bring some flowers next time you come?”

A grin lights up Aerith’s face as understanding dawns, and she nods eagerly. “Actually… I’ve got a better idea.”

“What do you mean?” Manda asks, brows furrowing.

“Are you free right now?”

“Uh… I guess so? Just let me change out of this first,” she answers, gesturing to the Honeygirl outfit.

“’Kay! While you do that, I’ll go let Cloud know I’m heading out without him.”

Manda snorts. “I doubt he’ll have any problem with that.”

“You’re probably right,” Aerith agrees with a shrug and a laugh. She slips out of the booth, grin fading into something softer. “But he _does_ get worried if I disappear without letting him know, even if he’d never admit it.”

“I’m sure,” Manda says with a nod. The boy likes to _think_ he’s all stoic and unreadable, but it’s the farthest thing from the truth. He _cares_ , about Aerith and Andrea and his friends and everyone here, and it’s clear as day to anyone who just takes a minute to _look_. It’s one of the reasons he’s become part of the family so quickly, even if he doesn’t quite _know_ he is yet.

She follows Aerith up the stairs to the second floor and then continues past her to the fourth, ducking into her apartment quickly to avoid the possibility of Pyra popping out and spotting her. (Or Cash, for that matter—she loves him and his big mouth dearly, but not quite so much when it’s aimed against _her_.) She changes into a flowy white top and a black skirt and tennis shoes, then darts back down the stairs to meet Aerith in the lobby. “So what exactly are we doing, anyways?”

“Going to my house,” Aerith says lightly, hands behind her back as she rocks on her heels.

“O _kay_ …” Manda drawls. “ _Why?_ ”

“Just trust me,” the other woman replies with an impatient roll of her eyes. She waves for Manda to follow her and quickly starts making her way out the door and through the labyrinthine alleys of Wall Market. They walk in silence until they get to the main road leading to Sector 5, and then Aerith slows down a bit. “This is for Pyra, right?” she asks idly.

“…Let me guess, Cash told you?” the blond asks, lips pursed. She _does_ spot the two of them talking after shows pretty often; it probably shouldn’t come as a surprise that they’ve built up some kind of friendship throughout their attempts at playing matchmaker for Cloud and Andi.

Aerith shoots her a slightly offended look and sighs. “Sheesh, _you_ must think I’m as blind as _Cloud_ does,” she mutters. A bit louder, she says, “No, he didn’t _have_ to.”

“…'Anyone with eyes can see it,' huh?” she quotes quietly. Part of a speech Andi had given her months ago in an attempt at advice that she’d ultimately ignored.

“Pretty much,” Aerith agrees, though her voice is gentler now.

They fall silent again, taking in the quiet noises of nights in the slums, and Manda resists the urge to question it when Aerith leads her to a tunnel of sorts. When they emerge at the other end, though, she can’t restrain her gasp. “What the— _how_ —?” She turns to look at Aerith with wide eyes, but the brunette just beams proudly and shrugs.

“I thought maybe it’d be nice for you to pick a fresh selection for her yourself,” she says, gesturing to the colorful garden.

“Thanks,” Manda says breathlessly, wandering down the closest path and carefully taking in everything she passes. Aerith follows quietly behind her, waiting and unobtrusive.

She’s never been big on flowers—never had any reason to, growing up in Midgar where it would usually cost a small fortune to find real ones—and she couldn’t possibly name any of these if she tried, but there are so many fascinating colors and shapes that catch her eye. Manda pauses by some pretty yellow flowers, glances back to spy Aerith’s sad smile as she looks at them, and quickly continues on. She tries to imagine what Pyra would like (something vibrant that she’d never get tired of looking at, probably), what would look good on her (purples and reds and pinks and—she _might_ have too much firsthand knowledge with that one).

She stops in front of some small, beautiful flowers that grab her attention, and maybe it’s just the dim lighting, but they play tricks with her eyes, seeming to fade between pink and purple and blue. She must stare at them a little too long, because Aerith steps up beside her with that soft, too-knowing smile. “These ones?” she asks quietly, and after a few moments of indecision, Manda nods. “Alright. I’m gonna go get some stuff from inside. You keep looking around and pick some more, ‘kay?”

Manda glances up in surprise, but Aerith is already hurrying away, so she shrugs it off and continues on down the path. She ends up settling on some bright blue bell-shaped flowers and some large, deep red ones with dozens of flat petals. When Aerith returns, she shows her how to cut them correctly and arranges them in a simple glass vase. It’s a ridiculous mix that doesn’t make much sense and would probably be an eyesore to anyone else, but somehow it doesn’t seem to matter. Seems… _right_ just because _she_ chose them and knows that that’s how Pyra thinks.

“Thank you, Aerith,” she says quietly, gazing down at the lively bouquet.

“You’re welcome,” the other woman replies, still with that same damn smile. Manda digs through her pocket and pulls out some gil, but Aerith gently pushes her hand down. “It’s on the house. Just this once.”

She shakes her head. “No, that’s too much. I meant to pay for just a flower or two from the start, and you gave me… _so_ much more. I’m not gonna just _take_ all this; you worked so hard to grow this beautiful garden, it’s—” Manda cuts herself off with a sigh. “How much do you normally charge?”

Aerith looks frustrated, but after a few moments she rattles off a number that Manda’s _sure_ is still too low, but it’s not like she has any proof of her usual prices. She hands over the money and they say their goodbyes, and she can’t stop staring at the flowers all the way home. She considers turning in for the night and bringing them to Pyra in the morning, but she can’t resist. Carefully hiding the vase behind her back, Manda knocks sharply on her girlfriend’s door three times and listens to the quiet noises of movement on the other side.

Pyra appears as the door opens, still in her work clothes. “Oh. Hi,” she says with a shy, surprised smile, waving her in. ( _Shy_ isn’t usually her thing, at least not with her, but since they got together it’s a different story. It’s… really fucking cute, actually, even if it _does_ occasionally feel like they’ve taken a few steps backward.) Manda inches around her and Pyra gives her a curious look, craning her neck in a vain attempt to see what she’s hiding.

“Shoo, shoo, go sit down,” Manda scolds, nodding toward the living room as she sneaks into the kitchen. Her grin removes any real weight from the order, but Pyra just smiles and obediently takes a seat, watching her from the couch. The blond continues to block her view as she digs the scissors out of a drawer, as she pulls one of the red flowers out of the vase and cuts the stem a bit shorter. Then she picks it all back up and sits down next to the other woman, finally revealing the bouquet. “For you,” she says simply as Pyra gapes at the gift and fingers the petals.

“This is—I— _Thank you,_ ” she says quietly, biting her lip hard.

Manda pulls the last flower from behind her back and gently removes the silly headband with the antennae and fake flowers from Pyra’s head before tucking it behind her ear. The sight steals her breath away. “There,” she says softly, swallowing down the sudden rush of emotion. ( _Not_ sudden, never sudden. It’s _always_ there whenever she’s near this unreal, beautiful woman who has blessed her life in _so many_ ways over the past few years.) “Knew you’d look even more gorgeous with a real one.” Her hand lingers on Pyra’s cheek, watching the way her expression wobbles, eyes growing wet even as her smile brightens. She rests their heads together and says, hushed, “I love you.”

Pyra flushes bright red, as she does every time Manda says it aloud, an adorable reaction but one that she hopes will fade over time. She kisses Manda, though, soft and sweet, and after a few long, flustered moments, she releases a breath and whispers, “I love you, too.”


End file.
